When you become the owner of the dog, then along with the joyous efforts to care for her, you may face difficult problems. Some diseases can arise due to inaccuracy in nutrition, others - due to insufficient care. But there are also such diseases that arise unexpectedly. Let's find out how rabies develop in the dog.
How can a dog get rabies?
Today rabies in a domestic dog is one of the most dangerous diseases for both animals and humans. An infected animal becomes dangerous to everyone around, and this disease ends often with death. The rabies virus manifests itself in the dog's body, affecting its central nervous system and brain. Lethal outcome occurs due to oxygen starvation, leading to cardiac arrest.
Transmission of the rabies virus comes from a sick organism to a healthy one through saliva or blood. Often this happens when you bite a sick animal. However, this can happen even if you touch the wool of a sick dog with a hand, on which there are even minor cracks or abrasions. The virus, getting into the blood, quickly manifests itself in the body, causing serious disturbances in its work. Since in ancient times it was believed that this is not a disease, but an obsession with demons, this illness was also called rabies.
Stages of rabies in dogs
This disease in dogs takes such forms:
- violent;
- atypical;
- depressive;
- remitting or refundable;
- abortive.
Often in dogs there is a violent form of rabies, which has three distinct stages:
- Prodromal - manifestation of rabies in dogs at this stage is imperceptible. At the same time, a domestic pet becomes inactive, does not respond to touch or voice, does not execute commands. During this period, one can suspect rabies only when the owner knows that his dog has been in contact with a sick animal.
- Manic - at this stage the symptoms of rabies are more evident: the dog gnaws inedible objects, can attack the master and even the children, bites, and without warning barking, tries to break off the leash and somewhere to run. At this stage, it is the most dangerous for others.
- The paralytic (depressive) - sick dog during this period can not swallow, therefore does not drink and does not eat. Paralysis of the extremities begins, and then all internal organs and the animal, unfortunately, dies.
Rabies in atypical form has a lingering course and sometimes lasts up to 6 months, in a depressive form manifests itself very quickly, within 3-4 days. With remitting rabies, the disease has a wavy course, seizures can be repeated in a few weeks, and after 3-5 days. In the abortive form, the dog's recovery occurs at the second stage of the disease, but this form of the disease is very rare.
The incubation period of rabies in dogs
Since the incubation period in the causative agent of this disease can reach 3 months, it is possible to determine exactly whether the dog is rabies, only by analyzing its saliva. But even this method can signal the presence of the disease only a few days before the first signs of rabies begin to appear. Therefore, it is so important to protect our pets from any possible contact with sick animals or carriers of the virus.
How long does the dog live with rabies?
The incubation period of the prodromal stage lasts from 2 to 4 days, manic - 3-5 days, and paralytic - 2-3 days. After its end, the symptoms of the disease appear, which are rapidly increasing, and the maximum after 11 days of rabies in a domestic dog results in the death of the animal. As we see, rabies in dogs is very rapid, so if your pet shows signs of this terrible disease, you should not try to help him on his own. It is better to call a veterinarian who decides what to do with a sick dog.
How to determine rabies in dogs?
To determine if your dog is ill, you should take a closer look at how it looks. As a rule, rabies is manifested in dogs with such external symptoms:
- thinned look;
- drooling of the mouth;
- a falling out tongue;
- opacity of the cornea.
Rabies is often confused with other diseases. For example, the plague in dogs also manifests epileptic seizures, but this disease does not lead to paralysis of the muscles of the lower jaw. And the rhinitis and conjunctivitis inherent in the plague is absent in rabies. With pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease) there is intense itching and scratching. Dogs with this disease are not aggressive towards humans, but only animals and objects.
How much does rabies develop in dogs?
Susceptibility to this disease does not depend on the breed or sex of the dog. But it was found that young animals are often sick, because their nervous system is not yet sufficiently formed. The manifestation of rabies in dogs can begin later or earlier, depending on the amount of the virus that has got into the body. It is very important not to let your pet meet with wild or stray animals.
For those owners who want to know how rabies develop in a dog, it should be remembered that for the first time this disease manifests itself in a few days after the communication of a pet with a sick animal, and in a few weeks, and in rare cases even a year later. It is important and the general condition of your pet: weakened dog is more susceptible to infection with the rabies virus.
The first symptoms of rabies in dogs
Initially, the affected dog does not respond to touch or voice, does not execute commands. Quite often the opposite behavior of the animal is also manifested: the dog insistently demands communication, licks the hands of the person. If the behavior of the pet has changed dramatically, then the owner should be alert and carefully observe him. After 2-3 days, the first symptoms may appear: the dog barking hoarsely, catching the air, wide open at the same time mouth, increased salivation. Later, other signs and symptoms of rabies in dogs are added.
How to check the dog for rabies?
If the owner has a suspicion that his pet has become infected with rabies, it is necessary to urgently call a veterinarian who will take all the necessary tests, place the dog in a special box for the necessary time and will monitor its condition. If the rabies test performed in dogs has a positive result, then the animal is euthanized.
Rabies Medicine for Dogs
Knowing how rabies develop in a dog, you should closely monitor her behavior and well-being. After all, this terrible disease has a 100% lethality, that is, it is impossible to cure rabies from a pet. No injections for dogs from rabies, unfortunately, will not help. You can use only symptomatic anticonvulsant, analgesic, hypnotics. If the animal exhibits a breathing disorder, it is possible to carry out ventilation of the lungs.
Vaccination against rabies in dogs
To save your pet from rabies, the dog should be vaccinated against this formidable disease. Approximately at the age of 6-9 months the puppy is vaccinated. However, if you live in an area where there have been cases of rabies, and your dog has free-range, the vaccination can be done earlier, even at the age of three months.
Sometimes the owners want to know how much the rabies vaccine has in dogs . In different vaccine manufacturers, this period can vary from 2 to 3 years, but in unfavorable localities, veterinarians recommend that dogs be revaccinated every year. In this vaccine can be done only to a healthy animal. 7-10 days before vaccination, the dog must be gelled. After the introduction of the vaccine, the dog shows immunity to rabies after 21 days.